Page 22 of Hard Rock Love

7

“Hey.” Seth put a hand on my arm, a gentle touch.

I tipped my chin up to meet his eyes.

“You can’t feel bad that you haven’t gotten everything figured out yet,” he said. “Your sister, Julian and I, we’re a rare case. Most people don’t get their shit together until their twenties or even thirties.”

I knew my eyes must have been glossy and red-rimmed. It was embarrassing I’d almost had a breakdown in front of Seth.

I forced a teasing smile.

“So you think you’ve got your shit together, huh?” I asked.

“If my shit isn’t exactly together, I’ve at least gathered it all in the same room,” he replied.

I burst into laughter as Everly and Julian walked into the kitchen, hand in hand.

“What’s so funny?” Everly asked.

“Just Seth being Seth,” I said.

“Speaking of me being me…” Seth rubbed his hands together with glee. “Now that you’re here, let’s go get the others and play a drinking game.”

Everly blanched as Julian chuckled quietly.

“Maybe later,” Julian said. “Everly’s still recovering from last time.”

“You’re an evil, evil man,” she told him.

“We’re going to hang out by the pool,” Julian said.

“Oh. Okay.” Seth looked downcast, but quickly cheered up. “That’s cool though, I’ll just go find the others. Come on Abby, you can be my partner in crime.”

After hearing about Seth’s penchant for gross drinks, I might have been hesitant, but now that I knew his reasoning behind it, I was sort of touched that he wanted to include me in it.

“Sure, I’m in,” I said.

“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into,” Everly warned.

“I’m a big girl, I can handle myself,” I told her.

“I’ll resist the urge to sayI told you sowhen you end up hurling in the bathroom later tonight,” she replied.

“I’ll go easy on her,“ Seth promised. He took my hand in his and tugged me toward the exit. “Let’s go have some fun.”

His large palm engulfed mine. I felt the rough callouses of his fingers as ours intertwined. My heart jumped in my chest. I looked down at our hands, then back up at Seth as he guided me through the living room. And then I had to swerve to avoid getting elbowed in the chest by a random flailing arm. This place was getting more crowded by the minute.

“I see Cerise and Liam over there.” He squeezed my hand as we maneuvered our way around the partygoers and waved wildly to them.

On a sofa in the corner sat a strikingly beautiful woman with cherry red hair falling over her shoulders. She raised a hand to Seth. A handsome man with wavy brown hair sat next to her, arm wrapped securely around her waist.

“Hey, Seth,” the woman, Cerise, said as we walked up. “Who’s your friend?”

The woman stared at me with big blue eyes, flicking up and down like she was examining and cataloguing me. It was almost intimidating how thoroughly she scanned me up and down.

“I’m Everly’s sister, Abby,” I introduced myself.

“The one in college.” Cerise’s eyes lit up in recognition. “She talks about you a lot. She’s really proud of you.”